'A' List celebrity Will Smith, who it is claimed by many has links to Scientology, is setting up his own elementary school in a wealthy mountain-top suburb of Los Angeles, with 40-100 pupils and annual fees of up to $12,500, although most students will receive financial assistance.

The actor claims through his spokespeople that the New Village Academy in Calabasas is a "secular" school that will merely use a teaching method developed by the late L. Ron Hubbard, who created Scientology in the 1950's.

Several of the School's teachers are Scientologists.

Critics say that the method, known as "study tech", is simply a way to indoctrinate children with Scientology jargon and establish Hubbard as an authority figure, leading them to the organisation later. The Hubbard-developed teaching method called "study technology" emphasizes hands-on experience, mastering a subject matter before moving on, and not reading past words students don't understand.

David S. Touretzky, a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, created a website that dissects study technology and asserts that it is Scientology religion disguised as education.

Touretzky said many phrases and concepts on the school's website are specific to Scientology. For example, the school lists a "Director of Qualifications" and another teacher who is an assistant in the "Qual" department. The "Qual," said Touretzky, is where people who have completed a Scientology counseling, or "auditing," session or a course in the Church of Scientology are tested by a qualifications teacher.